Use, Yes. Steal, No.

150 posts categorized "Elena Dementieva"

July 27, 2011

After her solid win over a craptastic Gools (STILL NOT OVER IT), MaKiri dished on the Lena D's wedding extravaganza. It was hilarious, mainly because she was so happy to talk about it and got really animated and giggly.

“It was the best wedding I have ever been. Elena and her husband, they were always with the guests. They were sitting with the microphone, they were talking to us a lot, they were singing a song together, they were dancing together, it was unbelievable. They always was with the guests. Because normally when you go to the wedding, the pair is just sitting and watching, so kind of boring. But they were interactive.”

“They were dancing together and singing a song for each other. I think they practiced a lot. I talked to her and she said you can't imagine how tough it was before to organize everything. It took half a year. I was surprised. She was singing good.”

“I didn't [catch the bouquet]. [laughs] It was fun. Elena, she was like, did like this [wink] to me. And actually all the girls, they were like trying to, you know, like I was catching the flowers. Then suddenly, from somewhere, Dushevina came, you know, sprint, and she just stole it from me. [laughs] So, ok. Whatever.”

December 01, 2010

Ah, awards season. Ever since "Crash" beat out "Brokeback Mountain" in 2006, I have been totally over awards. I mean, I was pretty much over them before that when the idiotic "American Beauty", aka "Plastic Bags Are Beautiful. No Really!" beat out "The Insider" in 1999, but "Crash" sealed it. I've never really cared for award cereomonies since. The nominations are always wrong and the voters are uninformed, easily swayed by factors that are unrelated to the performance, and always biased.

Oh, and they're almost always wrong. Did I mention that?

But anyway. Here are the ATP and WTA awards for 2010:

Player of the Year: Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters

Doubles Team of the Year: Mike and Bob Bryan, Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko

So there you go. With the WTA being much more volantile from a results standpoint, there's a lot to argue about if you care to, but in the end I think they generally got it right. Sure, Serena only played six tournaments, but she did won two Slams, one more than Kim. There's an argument for Caro, too, if one were so inclined, especially considering the fact that Flavs/Gisela (who I love) went Slamless for the year, while Vania and Shved and the Sisters Williams, won two Slams each. So...consistency is important? Slams? Just winning the YEC? WHO KNOWS!

I initially scoffed at Justine winning Comeback POY. But she did make a Slam final after only three weeks. That's kinda impressive. Sure, she only played for seven months, but the only other real contender would be Ana, and she didn't post the same positive results as Justine (Slam final, Premier title) and the ones she did post only came in a three month period. So fine, Justine, you can have this one.

I don't need to know what's going on here. All I know is that Yonex, you should be ashamed of yourselves. No really, you're idiots.

Mama Vera! Also, you gotta love that in this day and age of tennis divas, Lena and her mom stayed at a hotel that looks an awful lot like the flat DonkeyGrooming and I rented in London. Which is simply to say that it's nice, just not multimillionaire nice.

If you look closely, even the forecep is crying. It was that kind of day.

Needless to say, I was initially in a complete state of shock. Tennis *without* Elena Dementieva? The ill-fitting dresses, the shrieking screams of anguish, my envy of Vera's always amazing glasses, those ridiculously reliable groundstrokes, the fact that "she goes to change. She always goes to change", my eyeroll *everytime* the commentators have to go off on her serve. These are things that comprise the fabric of my tennis-loving soul. And given Elena's resiliency and consistency, as well as the London Olympics in 2012, I just didn't think this would come so quick.

I think it's the right time for me. I never wanted to wait until my ranking dropped and I'm not going to be able to go to the main draw. I always wanted to leave this sport with a passion for it.

But Elena's been thinking about it for a while and it sounds like she had made up her mind before the start of the season but she kept it under wraps. Why?

Still, it's very tough decision to make. Very emotional. I made the decision in the beginning of this season, so it was very hard coming to the tournaments knowing that this was my last one. It was very emotional for me to play the whole year.

I didn't want to make it public. I didn't want everybody talking about the whole season. You know, I only told to my family and close friends, so today in the court I was very surprised that everyone kind of knew about my secret. They all were standing, and it was very special for me.

Isn't that just so Elena? She spent 12 years quietly going about her business in an almost workmanlike manner, never jockeying for the spotlight (though the spotlight would find her on its own). She clocked in, she clocked out, met disappointment with the unparalleled grace, and all the while she did it on her terms. And in the course of it all she gained the utmost respect from both fans and peers. Ever heard Serena give genuine props to other players not named Venus? Well she given big ups to Elena. That's something.

Lena wants to have babies, guys. I mean, that's the upshot of her comments after the match:

To be honest with you, I mean, if I would be a man I would never stop playing. But in the age 29; I have to think about something else. I think I'm ready for the big change in my life.

Mama Lena? Grandma Vera? Daddy Max? Nice ring to them all. Can't wait to see her struttin' around Moscow with a Baby Bjorn as Vera walks alongside, concerned that Lena's gonna drop the baby or something.

The post-mortems will talk a lot about "The Slamless Wonder" and all the would of, could of, should ofs of Elena's career. They also talk about her triumphs, namely that Beijing gold medal that no one can ever take away. But when I think of Elena I won't think about those things. I won't think about the nutty serve, that match point at Wimby 08, or her almost backboard-like qualities that would give my favorite players fits.

Nope. I will simply remember that she was a professional tennis player, and I mean this as the ultimate compliment. She worked hard, traveled the globe, clocked in hour after hour on the court, never let her fitness down, and she tried to maximize her talent as best she could. She fought, she tried, and she worked and she never complained about it.

In this day and age of tennis, it's a hell of a lot easier to be wowed by natural talent. Strength, speed, power, flexibility, fitness, etc. But work ethic is a natural talent, too, and that's something I will always attribute to Elena. She was a grinder. In the best sense of the word.

I have no regrets. I think I was practicing very hard; I was trying very hard; that was my way. If it didn't happen, it didn't happen, but I have nothing to blame myself. I was very professional and I had nothing but tennis, tennis, tennis, and I did it with passion.

So I have absolutely in regrets. I have so many things to be proud of. It was a very difficult and long way for me. So, yeah, I just have very nice and unforgettable memories.

I was far away from being perfect, but, you know, I had a great fighting spirit. Even without good serve, I was struggling for so many matches, but I was fighting and I was never give up. I was giving 100% on the court no matter who well I was playing. This is what I like.

You don't have to be perfect, but you have to try very hard, and I did all the time.

October 28, 2010

The semifinalists are set for Doha and if you look at that group it's hard to argue, as Brodie said, that of the eight players in Doha these aren't the four impact players of 2010. You've got the world #1 who was virtually unbeatable for the second half of the year, the world #2 who found her stride and made two back to back Slam finals, a defending Grand Slam champ who will likely end the year at least #3 in the world despite having to skip a Slam, and a new giant killer who proved this year that she has the game to beat anyone on any day (yes, even people named Serena) and will finish the year as the only player to beat both Serena and Woz while they were reigning #1s, aka, the chick who turned this blogger's stone heart into melty goo.

If that alone doesn't qualify as "huge impact" then you need to go read a dictionary for a bit.

While you do that I'll be in the corner with my Strunk & White trying to learn how to not write a sentence that goes on for seven lines.

But congrats to all four. Sam clinched her spot after she took the first set over Elena. Clearly she knew this and decided, as I did, to take a celebratory nap after that. Elena would take the next two sets, 64 76(4).

Just kidding. It was nice to see Elena pick up her game and play well. After that dismal performance against Caro on Tuesday it wasn't looking good for her. But she gets her revenge on Sam. Good on her.

Speaking of Caro, it was looking dicey has hell for the wannabe #1 after that first set, which Fran took 63. But the Kid righted the ship and took the next two 61 61 to clinch her spot in the semis and the year-end #1 ranking.

I haven't seen this match yet but I can't wait. Despite the scoreline I hear there were some tremendous rallies. You get on with your bad self, Fran. Now go win tomorrow to get yourself a $200k paycheck (well-deserved given the amount of on-court entertainment she's brought all week) and get thee to San Diego, where I will be rooting for you to raise that Fed Cup.

Sigh. What are we supposed to do with you, Vika? Look, everyone knows your potential is HUGE. I'm pretty sure we all thought you were going to be the first kid from your generation to hit #1, not that Danish Muppet. But it seemed as though every time you were under the radar you'd come out of nowhere with a quality run (Stanford) and when you were over the radar (I don't know...that works, right?) you would collapse, sometimes literally. The talent is there. But you gotta get fitter in the body and the head. It's just really frustrating to watch.

And mind you, I'M NOT EVEN A FAN! I actively root for you to lose. In fact, if I were to be blatantly honest, I pretty much root for you to literally collapse on the court (caveat: so long as you don't actually hurt yourself). When you walk by me at tournaments I have to hug the wall for fear that I might spontaneously kick you in the kidney. But I don't hate you as much as I love tennis and for the good of the game you need to be good. Besides, I can't hate on you when you're losing all the time. It just seems cruel.

Oh. She lost to Kim, 64 57 61. Yet another third set collapse (figuratively). Kim's win meant both she and Bepa clinched the group.

But don't go anywhere! There's still stuff to play for tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to Lena vs. Fran and Kim vs. Vera. Kim and Vera are the only undefeated players left and whoever wins will play Caro (loser gets Sam, as is life) and be eligible for bonus money for going undefeated in RR play if they win the title. Plus, and maybe I'm naive here, but I don't think any of those four will be tanking their matches. There's a lot of pride on the line.

October 27, 2010

First up, we've got this rematch. It would be great if Elena were fully fit and able to compete at a top level, but based on what I saw against Caro on Tuesday, that looks doubtful. She said after the match that it wasn't her ankle but the heat that was affecting her. Either way, she did not look great on Tuesday.

Let's go, Sammy! Win and clinch not only your group but a year-end top 5 ranking.

And in the nightcap we have a rematch of the RG quarterfinal, where Fran really started her remarkable run by busting Caro 2 and 3. Fran leads the H2H 2-1, but Caro won their last hard court meeting this year in Montreal fairly easily. If Caro wins, she'll clinch the year-end ranking. If Fran wins, well, she'll be awesome and the WTA's collective foreheads will hit the desk.

The most anticipated match of the day for most will be Vika vs. Kim. Vika is 0-1 after losing to Bepa in straights. Kim is 1-0 after beating JJ in straights. Needless to say, this is a must win for Vika and it will be a good test to see where Kim's game really is.

This one's a toss-up for me, but I'm going with Kim. She leads the H2H 2-1 with both wins coming on hardcourts.

October 26, 2010

Caro and Bepa cruised in their first round matches, with Caro beating a hobbled Elena 1 and 1, and Bepa beating a ailing (is that vague enough?) JJ, 3 and 0. Everybody was all like "ZOMG, this purple vagina tour is such a LOLZ! How can anyone take it seriously?"

Well, we all know that JJ and Lena are hobbled, right? And we know their results in the last few months haven't been great, no? And we know that Caro and Bepa are, according to the rankings, the top two players in the world who actually play tennis full-time. I mean, even if you can't accept that fact you have to agree that they have both had waaaaaaaay better years than Lena and JJ. And we know that Caro and Bepa have been in good to fantastic form over the past few months.

So...how are these results surprising? Disappointing? Sure, I mean, everyone *hopes* for competitive matches but I don't think we had any reason to believe these were actually going to be close ones. And if anything, wouldn't it have been more pathetic if the top two players couldn't blitz a player with one leg and another with no nose?

Calm down. I'm referring to JJ's respirtatory issues, knee jerks. She skipped her post-match presser, by the way. You just keep on keepin' on, JJ.

So I'm going to be the one to say great job Caro and Bepa. You're the top seeds in your groups and you played like it today, playing smart and contained tennis to get on and off the court quickly.

And you did it while still being you. Well done.

Oh, and PS, I can't wait for the handwringing and rending of garments when Rafa and Roger dole out some breadsticks and bagels in London. Because you know there's absolutely no double standard here. Not at all.

Also, is she breaking out in hives or something in that picture? That's a distracting amount of splotch all along her neck and upper chest.

Next up, very nice blond ladies who haven't won shit. Or so the narrative would read if I weren't me and I were someone else. Elena is coming off an ankle injury that forced her to withdraw from Luxembourg so who knows what her form is. Caro is coming off -- what's this? -- a two-week break since she won in Beijing. That's like a three-month break for most people.

Caro leads the H2H 4-3, but she's beaten Elena both times they've met in 2010, most recently in the Tokyo finals. Gotta tap the kid here. She kinda really needs to win this title.

Though, Sam, if I may, can I just as you one teensy-weensy little favor? Please get that nail polish off. Otherwise I'm going to spend the entirety of your match laughing my ass off, and that's not the type of support or intensity I want to be bringing to this match.

October 24, 2010

The ladies are finally in Doha (doesn't it seem like we've been talking about the YECs for forever now?) and kicked off the festivities by glamming up for the sole purpose of showing off their amazing sock tans. Which is kind of the only thing they really can show off given that it's, you know, Doha.

This is actually the last year Doha will host the YECs, which is kind of a shame because it looks like the ladies finally figured out how the hell they're supposed to do their hair and makeup. I hope they take everything they've learned with them to Istanbul next year.

October 07, 2010

This result absolutely shocked me. Ana not only beats Lena D but does so in straight sets via two TIEBREAKS. I mean, talk about a mental victory. I just never though Ana would win a match like this over a quality opponent like Lena.

September 30, 2010

Aga was forced to retire down 0-5 to Caro due to a leg injury. There were tears from both but Caro was pretty amazing in her genuine condolensces to her bestie and sometimes tanning partner.

Nice to see. She'll be up against her mindless ball-bashing buddy, Vika, in the semis, and has a pretty damn good chance of capturing that #1 ranking if she does well here and in Beijing. Hold on to your hats.

The other semi will feature Lena vs. Fran. Lena was on the verge of dropping the first set before Bepa failed to serve it out and pretty much went wonky for the rest of the match, throwing in UFE after UFE. It was bummersauce.

As for Fran, she had herself a 3+ hour battle with Kaia and needed two chances to serve out the third set after choking away the first chance pretty badly. Nice to see her back up her late summer results though. Somehow, the better Fran does, the easier RG is for me to take.

September 21, 2010

September 06, 2010

14 hours. 14 hours in the life of a tennis fan. To people who don't follow our sport we sound insane. How can your fortunes change over the course of 14 hours? But think about it. In what other sport are you juggling multiple rooting interests (sometimes simultaneously) throughout the course of a day? None. You don't have 8 different favorite football teams playing in one day. But you do have 8 or more favorite players playing in one day at a Slam.

Which means your fortunes and moods can change on a whim. It ain't easy.

Which brings me to Sunday. I hopped on the 7 to Flushing Meadows, cued up my iPod, hit shuffle, and it kicked off the day with "Happy" by the Rolling Stones. Not bad. Not bad at all. Then it went to "Ready To Go" by Republica. Hmmm...are you trying to tell me something, iPod? Are you my new Ouija board? Can you see into the future?

September 01, 2010

It was a toasty one today in NYC. I know this because Aunt Pimmy told me so. Also because I finally ditched the jeans and t-shirt look and went with shorts and a tanktop. A wise move, I think. But between the heat, the crowds, and the size of the grounds, I've come to realize that you have to really want it to win it here at the USO, and I don't mean the players.

Typically when I go to a tournament I like to just wander the grounds and pop in to see whatever match tickles my fancy, or I'll stick around the practice courts to watch random players. Not so here in NYC. Nope, there better be a damn good reason for me to haul my ass out of the somewhat tolerable shade and stand/sit in the sun for the better part of an hour. Even today, I could barely get it up to stick around to watch Sveta, MaKiri, FeVer, or Elena for anything more than five minutes. To the extent I have pictures of any players or matches it is a reflection of my love for them. I thought I was going to go blind when Nole, Sam, and Dani were practicing, what with the Iguacu Falls-like deluge of sweat that was running into my eyes. At one point I looked down and realized sweat was just running down my legs. Which could have been weird if anyone who knows me, knows FD, and knows my love of all things Corgi had seen me.

IT WAS SWEAT! I PROMISE!

There is no wandering here at the USO. If you wander, you must do so with intent. And a lot of water. And sunscreen. And...patience.

Mikey Llodes and son.

Stop making this awkward, Sam. Just. Ignore. Me.

Dani and Elena. Underachieving. As per yoosh.

Mama Vera shagging balls.

Vika and Sergei Bubka Jr., who, according to Boyfriend Jon, is her man friend. No word on how long his pole is.

Team Venus taking the far practice court.

Happy Vera. I know. It's weird.

Oh, hai, Eva. You kept me thoroughly entertained all evening and for that, I thank you.

Really, Nadia? Really? Did someone eat a bowl full of Skittles, pound a huge Icee, and then puke on your dress? Oh, they did? Ok, well then I feel a little bad now.

August 31, 2010

My day started with a little Dinara warming up on Armstrong. I figured I should probably soak this in as much as possible all things considered. I've unfortunately had to apply my Ivanovician "If you don't see her early you may not see her at all" tactic to Dinara. As we all know, it was a wise decision.

Dani tweeting away as she waits for Dinara to stop wheezing and get off the court.

Sania! She was absolutely CRUSHING the ball during her practice session and it was nice to hear that she beat Burrito later that day.

I...I...I can't even deal with that dress. First of all, it looks two sizes too big. Second, it looks, in person, like it's made of pleather. Third, well, Yonex designed it so the first two points were a given. Fugly dress notwithstanding, she won in front of a rather packed crowd on Court 11.

I was way too distracted by Rafa and Sam that I didn't even notice that Gilles was Rafa's practice partner. In fact, I do believe my inside voice actually muttered "What the fuck is up with Rafa's skinny, scrubby hitting partner?" Shame on me.

Walked by Court 6 right as Kleybs won her match. Kept my distance. Didn't know if she'd start shaking the sweat off or not.

Ran off to get some food (a hotdog and waffle fries in case you didn't care) and came back to see Ana and Flavia practicing together on Court 5. My hands were full of food so I literally stood courtside as I downed my hotdog in four bites. You know that scene from 30 Rock with the sandwich at the airport? Moi.

My phone was all crapped out all day (assume it's a network issue because it's fine when I get back to Manhattan) and I was having trouble hooking up with Lexi, who was busy boozing it up all over the grounds. But once she saw my message that Ana and Flavia were hitting, she found me. I'm predictable like that.

Flavia talking to Stefano, her physio, who I rather randomly met at a bar the other night. He is so so so nice. I have to say, one of the nicest "entourage" folks I've met. Well, he's doing his job right because the toe seems to be ok. She won later that night.

Then it was time for Coco, who couldn't back up last week's tight win over Dani. Not entirely unexpected, really, but still a bummer. But at least Dani had to play well to beat her.

August 25, 2010

In addition to the article and the videos, NYTM also put together a slideshow of awesome pics from their WTA power shoot. I said it before and I'll say it again. This is how you show women athletes as physical, strong, muscular, and beautiful without simply objectifying them as sex objects. Really great stuff.

I absolutely love it when tennis hits the Big Apple because you get all this crazy coverage from the U.S. media outlets, and sometimes, just sometimes, they'll surprise you. Like in this video collection from the NYT, which features Kim, Serena, Elena, JJ, Sam, Vika, and Bepa.

First of all, that's a great collection of players. They didn't just go the easy route, there and get Mels, Maria, Venus, etc. Second, everyone looks great and really, it doesn't feel like they're objectifying the players. The movement is really beautiful. Third, a tube top? Really?

August 12, 2010

What's the point of getting a media pass, getting all excited about interviewing players, crafting beautifully worded questions on interesting topics, only to show up and see these two pistol whips do you your job better than you could ever dream of.

The #3 and #5 seeds are out of Cincy, as Lena got thwacked by Pavs and Franny, well, she was post-RG Franny, losing to Vezzie 4 and 4. I can't really shed a tear for Franny. I mean, she got the ultimate prize and you can't help but expect a huge letdown afterwards. But man, it really must suck for Elena to lose to Pavs after giving Maria a run for her money in Stanford two weeks ago. She was playing pretty well there. This loss has to hurt.

July 31, 2010

Marissa and I spent a good 45 minutes debating an interesting question: Who's the "better" competitor: Serena or Masha. We both agreed that they were far and away the best two (we struggled to come up with a "top five") but in the end, we were at an impasse, primarily because we each defined "better competitor" differently. For my money, I say Maria, primarily because I think that if you put her in a parking lot and made her play a playground match for $5, she would still kill herself for it. Marissa's point (oversimplified for the purposes of this point) was that if you had to pick a player who could find a way to win while not playing their best, you have to go with Serena. I think we both agreed with each other's propositions, but we disagreed over which was "better". Either way, it helped us get through what was a frigid night in Stanford as we watched what was, we debated, one of the best WTA matches of the year.

It obviously wasn't a perfect match. Both players struggled with their serves. But once the ball was in play it was ridiculously heavy, hard hitting, with both players showing that they could track down balls and get them back with angle and interest. It was a fun match to watch and I was really happy to see my Twitter feed blow up with complimentary things to say about both players. Remember, this was only Elena's second match since retiring in RG and only Maria's third match since losing to Serena at Wimbledon. Given the circumstances, this was a high-quality match that was worthy of a final.

In the end it was Masha on top, as I expected. Elena played great off the ground but her serve, as always, was too bit a liability to overcome. Masha always had a shot at breaking, taking advantage of short serves and absolutely pummeling some returns. After the match she said it took her a while to warm up and swing through the ball. Could have fooled me. She seemed to take a hack every chance she got. The quote that kept running through my head was from Spinal Tap: "But it goes to 11."

It wasn't until we got back to the press room and started reading the blogger coverage of the match that we learned that there was some controversy surrounding the ESPN court mics picking up some coaching from Mike. I guess they overheard him in the box telling Maria to serve to Demmy's backhand. I haven't seen the ESPN coverage yet so I can't really comment but for me personally, at the end of the day, I don't really care. I don't have a problem with on-court coaching and I don't have a problem with sideline coaching either. If it means we get more high quality matches, so be it. But I'm sure people disagree.

But a great win for Masha, who picks up her first Top 40 win and Top 10 win of the season. To me she's virtually booked herself into the final as she's facing Aga in the semis, a match I expect her to win easily. She's playing and competing well and she can only get better.

July 28, 2010

It was clear after the four straight breaks to start the match that this one wasn't going to be all that predictable. By the middle of the first set Kimiko was in the zone, hitting flat and hard with her "ping pong" shots (Elena's words, not mine) and getting to the net when she could. It was inspired stuff. By the second set Lena had made the necessary adjustments. This was the first time the two had met and it Elena some time to implement a game plan that involved getting the ball deep. Kimiko was getting quite a bit of pop on any ball that she could lean into. Kimiko raced out to a 2-0 lead before Elena reeled off four straight games and eventually took the set.

The third set would see two players go on streaks of good and bad, with Elena building a 3-0 lead and Kimiko clawing back to 2-3. From there it was a battle of grit and will, as each had chances to break. But they would trade holds until Elena served it out.

The match ended on a bit of a sour note. Elena hit a ball that looked out, no call was made, Kimiko hit it, looked at the line judge, and Elena hit a winner. Kimiko looked up and pleaded to the umpire for a challenge, but to no avail. GSM, ED. In her post-match presser with Japanese media she looked gutted. She had clearly had a good cry in the locker room. She fought like a champ until the end. Her technique let her down but her intensity and competitive fire was there. The new generation of WTAers could learn a lot of her.

As for Elena, it wasn't a bad match considering it was her first match since Roland Garros. She was strong off the baseline, the serve looked ok (not great, but ok) and her movement was good. She'll probably play Shazza in the quarterfinals if Shaz beats Govortsova tomorrow. That match will be a good test for both, though I tap Maria to come on top. She's going to feast on on Lena's serve.

July 26, 2010

July 25, 2010

Elena was exactly what I expected. Classy, articulate, and wise and, actually, pretty funny. An absolutely pleasant person. After spending two weeks off the courts to heal up (during which time she traveled around Europe visiting family), she says she feels "good" and "ready". When asked if she kept up with Wimbledon during her break, "To be honest, this time I didn't watch Wimbledon. I was just too disappointed that I'm not there."

It was nice to hear that she feels the support from fans regarding their/our desire for her to win her first Grand Slam. In fact, when the question was asked, she got a very "aw shucks/wow, that's so nice!" sly smile. It made me happy.

Towards the end of the interview things turned to the topic of Dinara, with whom she practiced with the day before.

Her general thoughts on what Dinara needs to do to get back:

"I think Dinara, she always used to worked really hard. Even when she was a little girl and right now I'm sure it's not easy for her to come back after a back problem. But I practiced with her and it looks like she's in good shape. She took some time off, she feels refreshed, and she feels like she's ready to play. All she needs right now is to play matches and get confidence."

"Well I talked to her I think she's good enough. She said she took some time off during Wimbledon and now she feels like she really wants to get back on the court playing these matches. It's good to see because she played way too many couple years ago so she probably overplayed."

Thoughts on whether the pressure of winning a Slam had an effect of Dinara:

"Well I think that in the beginning of the year she was hoping to play that well. But she didn't imagine it would be *that* well, you know what I mean? Winning week after week, without any break, that's what it cost. Some injuries, back problems. The way she was playing on clay courts, winning so many matches, she was physically ready to go and she couldn't stop from winning these matches. She was in great shape."

And finally, on whether Dinara's coaching stint with Zeljko was too intense or negative:

"Well it's hard to say. I think Dinara should answer this question because she's the only one who knows how much he put into her game. And how much he was involved in the success. But I think he was working really hard with her. As you can see he was really following her game and he was trying to help her and trying to improve her game and she did improve her game a lot. So it's very difficult.... It was a very unique situation, put it this way. She was winning so many matches. And I think they were both a little overexcited, I would say, about these results. And so maybe it wasn't the smart decision to play so many tournaments. But at the same time, I mean, she wanted to play. Nobody pushed her to do this. So I think in the end it comes to your decision. And I think she's old enough to make it, right?"

And now a funny exchange:

Q: You have any sense of it's history? When the first circuit was formed that becamse the WTA, San Francisco was the first stop.

A: Oh really? I didn't know that. It's very special.

Q: There were only, what 8 players? I think the first draw was 8 players and the winner won $1000. Billie Jean King.

A: I don't know why we made the draw so big. [laughter] I mean, three matches? That's good enough.

I hope that translates in black and white. It was pretty funny at the time.

July 24, 2010

And of course, my AnaDar is full effect. She was practicing with MaKiri alongside Dinara and Elena. It's weird to see her in colored shoes. Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, she was stinking up the court. Toss was all over the place, visibly frustrated. GOOD TIMES!

June 14, 2010

It looks like Lena's out of Wimbledon due to the leg injury she sustained at RG. If anything this simply puts her run at RG in perspective. She made the semis with a leg injury that is forcing her out of a Slam. And in case you think that's not indicative of the severity of the injury how about this stat: Lena has played in 46 straight Slams, which is even more impressive considering what a workhorse she is on the tour.

Get well, Lena. You infuriate me with your domination of my favorite players, but any top draw seems empty when you're not there.

June 03, 2010

I tried to stay as far away from this match as possible. Not because I didn't care. My jokey, laugh-a-minute, irreverent side really wanted Fran to win. "Fuck the establishment" that side would say! Screw you and your predictions! Franny is awesome and she deserves to make the finals!!! All valid points, irreverence.

But my heart was pulling for Lena. The underachieving, hard-working Lena. Rooting for Lena is like being a Cubs fan. Or, perhaps more accurately, a Red Sox fan prior to the aughts. A player constantly denied the glory partially because of her own mistakes and partially because of one singular vanquisher that always stands in her way.

In my head I knew she wouldn't make it out of this match. If you've actually watched Lena play all week you knew she wasn't moving well. She injured her leg against CanWoz in the third round and she's been scraping through ever since.

But it was a bummer that Lena had to retire after that first set. The vilification she'll receive among fans and press for once again not being able to step up to the plate will echo for years. Nevermind the fact that she's suffered a tear in her calf and might not be able to play Wimbledon. Don't let the facts get in the way of your story, boys and girls.

With that out of the way, let's put aside our downcast gazes and give a bit "WHOOMP THERE IT IS!" to Franny. She's the first Italian woman in a Grand Slam final, she's passed Flavia as the new Italian #1, and she's done this with hard work, new strings, and the maturity of a 29 year-old who's seen it all. Oh, and also a hot boyfriend who actually looks like he may be man enough for her brand of awesome.

Congrats, Fran! I can't say that I'll be rooting for you, but I also can't say that I won't whoop it up in my living room and do one-armed pushups (ahem...pushup) in celebration of your history making win either.

March 24, 2010

One of the beauties of Indian Wells, and I would presume any Masters or Premier tournament that gives you access to the players, is the joy of just watching these elite athletes mosey about their every day lives. Because really, awesome facilities and weather aside, this *is* their life. Waking, stretching, practicing, eating, and sleeping.

Sure, I could keep posting the awesome practice pictures that Steph was able to capture. But come on. That stuff you can, for the most part, get from anyone and anywhere. And really, how many times do I really need to see Andy Murray striking a tennis ball? Spoiler Alert: He's a professional tennis player. Each stroke looks the same. It's not gonna change from pic to pic.

But where I really have to give Steph credit is her ability to quietly (and someone creepily) wander the grounds and be at all the right places at all the right times. I just love all the candids she was able to catch that really capture the players' personalities.

The Family Pavs. That's her brother wearing a spectacularly sequined Ed Hardy hat.

Go To Tennis is already onsite and they have some great pictures up. Check them out here, here, here, and here. Hey Vika, if you want to redeem yourself feel free to garrote Fed with your grip tape. I won't stop you. And I'm so happy to see Nole has decided to practice on the grounds this year.

February 09, 2010

Ah, Paris. It's just not the same without Momo, to be honest. But life must go on.

After Serena's shocking withdrawal, Lena leads the field, with Flavia, Yanina, and Fran in tow. After getting bounced in the second round of AO by Justine, I'm actually really rooting for Lena to take the tournament. The tennis world needs to be reminded that she's still part of the conversation.

January 20, 2010

Justine and Elena, for 2 hours and 55 minutes, put on, according to some, THE GREATEST WOMEN'S MATCH OF THE LAST 5 YEARS IF NOT OF ALL TIME. To me, it was a good WTA match, with high drama, that Justine won. There was tremendous shotmaking by both players, shows of guts and courage to battle back, and a lot of nerves and stupidity that created the drama. Like I said, a good WTA match. But Henin/Pova at SEC 07 it was not. It wasn't even Serena/Lena SW19 09.

Justine was impressive in her net play. She approached the net around 40 times and won a crap load of points there. She's clearly getting ready for Wimbledon. But the other part of her game that she'll need for Wimbledon is her serve, and that wasn't there. She struggled mightily with her toss and with her serve generally, throwing in 4 DFs in her first service game alone. Her inability to serve out a game kept Lena in the match. The frightening thing is that if she was serving well, this would have been a 63 63 win.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Justine's performance was her focus and intensity. It never wavered. She always looked like she believed (even when she was looking at Carlos for coaching advice -- which he gave) and in the end, that's what won her the match. Well, that and Carlos' coaching advice from the stands. Which was plentiful.

All that said, still can't stand her, don't enjoy watching her play, and really, if I didn't have to write about her for the rest of the year, I could care two shits about her.

As for Lena, I am, for the second time in six months, gutted for her. She played almost as well as she could have. She didn't serve as well as she did in Sydney, which to me indicated she was feeling the pressure. But she stood toe to toe with Justine once the rallies started and gave her a run for her money. This was such a tough second round draw for her and, though it sounds weird to say, she didn't deserve it. I'm slowly, ever so slowly, coming around to the idea of wanting Lena to get that Slam before she retires. Hell, Jana Novotna has a Slam. Lena deserves one, too.

January 19, 2010

Some really great matches on tap for today but the gem of the day is Justine vs. Lena, which will be the first night match on Laver. I honestly don't know where I come down on this prediction wise, but I'm pretty sure I will never root harder for Lena than I will tomorrow.

Other good ones: Pavs/Kuz, Wick/Flavs, Blah/Elf, Sorana/Kleybs, and Tomas/Evgeny.

January 15, 2010

So, Elena beat Serena in Sydney. Again. And word on the street is that Elena looked amazing and Serena looked hobbled and error-prone. Again. I get my hopes up momentarily only to have them cruelly dashed two weeks and a bit later. Again.

January 11, 2010

Dinara, Sveta, Lena D, Bepa, Maria and Nadia have all declared themselves "unavailable" for the first round Fed Cup tie in Belgrade in February. This is Sveta's off-year, Dinara and Bepa both have notes from their doctors, and Lena D generally shows up at a moment's notice,so if she wants one off, okay.

January 07, 2010

"The Economist, once a year, heads out on this mission to see the future. They try to predict the coming year... I am a fan of The Economist-- that said, I think this project where they try to predict the coming year is totally ridiculous. You have these great reporters who have to write about, for instance, what's going to happen in China in the year 2010 and they bring so much knowledge to this question, but in the end, because no one can know the future, they end up making these kind of equivocal 'on the one hand, on the other hand' kinds of predictions... who cares?? ... 'Here's a bunch of random things that may or may not happen, believe whatever you want.'" -- Ira Glass, This American Life ("2010")

That right there is pretty much my personal opinion of predictions in sports like tennis. Who cares? Mostly, nothing means anything. The business of predictions, proclamations, assertions made on the basis of a single match (or one good week) is misleading and serves no purpose in an objective sport like tennis. This year especially, when there are so many comebacks (from both retirement and injury) and a string of Very Good Players who had Very Bad Years last year, proclaiming the future seems particularly futile. Trust me, I've been in sports where predictions and what certain people say and who won which events actually matters. You don't want any part of it.

I don't even get why people like to do it (is it so you can say later that you were right? Usually I could get into that). All you can do in tennis is watch and see what happens. To me, that's part of the beauty of it. I hate trying to guess what's going to happen. I'd much rather take stock as I go along.

So.

Things That--Really Guys-- Seem Completely Meaningless Right Now

Sorana Cirstea d Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)

I can't even count how many times I read after this match that Sorana had served notice or some such. Yes, Sorana played that match-- at least the last set and a half-- very well. But what's earthshattering about that? We all know Sorana Cirstea can play good tennis. What we don't know is whether she can play good tennis consistently enough to make a significant impact on the tour. Considering that she followed up her (impressive) defeat of Stosur with losses to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Melanie Oudin, the win (and the declarations that followed) seems particularly meaningless.

Sabine Lisicki d Elena Dementieva (Hopman Cup)

See above. We all know that Sabine can have big wins. We also all know that Elena can have very bad losses. How did Sabine follow up her (spectacular) defeat of Dementieva? By getting played way too close for comfort by a 15-year-old who's not even full time on tour yet.

Melanie Oudin's "Sub-Par" Performance at Hopman CupMelanie's always down in small events and then up in Slams and Fed Cup (or, at least, that's the pattern she established last year). Her performances at Hopman Cup indicate nothing other than that-- so far-- that trend looks to continue.

"Comeback" Wins By Daniela Hantuchova, Alize Cornet, and Dominika CibulkovaAll of these women are former top-20 (or even top-5) players with immense amounts of talent, loads of past results, and a not-so-hot 2009. All of them had pretty stellar early matches this week that looked like their peak selves, prompting some to call them contenders for the second week of the Australian Open. All of them immediately had their asses handed to them by higher-ranked, more consistent players. Ahem. (Not that they couldn't be, mind you, it's just silly to declare that based on two good matches that follow 6 months--or more-- of nothing.)

Things That Hold My Interest

Laura Robson (Hopman Cup)Laura's new on the pro scene and has her youth and lack of record working against her in the "where might this be going" game. She also, should her mind turn out to tend towards these kinds of things, has a huge disadvantage in all the pressure that is being, and will continue to be piled on her by the British media. But it's been a lot of fun to watch her grow in confidence at Hopman Cup this week. In her first match, she looked terrified, but through playing mixed doubles with Andy Murray, she seems to be growing in her belief that she can keep up with the big kids. She played Sabine Lisicki very well, looking at all times like she belonged on the same court. It'll be interesting to see if that continues to develop for her.

Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)On paper, Sam should have won all her matches at Hopman Cup. In the real world, she lost two out of three. Her ability is undeniable, but she isn't exactly projecting the kind of mental strength that's going to sustain her at the top of the game. Is this particularly dismal performance just a sign that, like Amelie Mauresmo in France, she doesn't cope well with the hometown pressure? Is it something bigger than that? Or did she just have a really bad week?

Ana Ivanovic (Brisbane)

Ana's having a winning week, which is obviously much better than what's been happening for her since Roland Garros. But is it really a sign of recovery? There's a tendency to (rather dramatically) pretend like since she won RG in 2008, Ana's been losing in the first round every week. But of course that's not true. She won Linz that fall, made the quarters of Brisbane and Dubai and the final of IW last year, and made the third or fourth round at three out of four Slams last year. Of course, those aren't the results that anyone expects from her, but they're not exactly Nicole Vaidisova, either. So far this week she's beaten-- in tough matches-- people who are ranked significantly below her. Since there's not anyone at Brisbane ranked significantly above her, even a win at the event might not be a very good indicator of where, precisely, she is at this point.

Justine Henin (Brisbane)She's back, and she's winning, but winning how? Her matches have all been close, and with the exception of Nadia Petrova, they've not been against people ranked anywhere near what is popularly thought of as Justine's caliber. We all know what Justine's capable of, her record is clear evidence of that. But it shouldn't be forgotten, either, how dismal the last few months of her "first" career were, or that she has yet to play-- let alone beat-- a top 10 player on her comeback.

Flavia Pennetta (Auckland)Flavia's usual modus operandi is to have a pretty dismal winter, pick up at Acapulco, have a couple of good clay events, and then really come alive on the US Open Series in the summer. But this year in Auckland she's come roaring out of the gates, kicking ass and taking names. Hmmm.

January 04, 2010

Programming Note: I'm super tired today and expecting a long day at work. I'm trying to enlist some help so y'all won't be left with just results and OOPs today, but... if it happens, my apologies.

Anyhoo.

One for you...

Aaaaaaaaaand... one for me:

Not that I actually saw either of those matches. I did see a few others, though, and I have to say that I was more impressed by the way Sabine took down Elena than I was by the way Sorana took down Sam. Jesus, that was a shellacking, even if Elena was serving like... Elena. Flavia looked decent for her first match out, and Reeshard looks like he continues to be his nutty self. [yawn]